The present invention relates to a storage or transport box which is made of cardboard, corrugated board or like material and can be divided into smaller packages, having a bottom section with end flaps, a top section with end flaps, and longitudinal side walls with end flaps, where the end flaps form at least part of an end wall at each end of the transport box.
Transport boxes made of cardboard, corrugated board or the like are already known. It is also already known for such transport boxes to be able to be divided into at least two smaller units. An example of such a transport box with a top section, a bottom section and side walls is described in DE 296 11 809 U1. The transport box is formed from two separate blanks, of which one blank forms the bottom section, top section and side, and the other blank forms the other sides of the transport box. The transport box can be divided into two separate units which, after removal of the side walls, form two storage trays. These trays are primarily intended to be used for displaying goods in shops in a way which makes the goods accessible to the customers.
A disadvantage of these trays is that they are not suited for further transport on account of their construction with a bottom and straight side walls, without anything to restrict an object in the tray from moving along the walls in the direction out of the tray, which means that an object in the tray can drop out of the tray if shaking occurs during transport. A further disadvantage is that the trays cannot be stacked one upon the other, which can cause problems during transport or storage.
The object of the present invention is to remedy the abovementioned disadvantages and provide a transport box which can be divided into smaller storage trays which are suitable for transport and can be stacked. Another object of the invention is to produce such a box from only one blank. By virtue of the fact that the transport box can be divided into smaller transport trays, the user has a greater choice regarding the size or quantity of the goods which can be transported or stored in the box.
According to the present invention, a transport box has therefore been developed which is formed from a blank of cardboard, corrugated board or like material, having a bottom section with end flaps, a top section with end flaps, and longitudinal side walls with end flaps, the end flaps forming at least part of an end wall. The transport box is characterized in that each side wall has an upper part with an end flap at each end, and a lower part with an end flap at each end, the upper part being connected to the lower part via two folded-in edges which are parallel to the bottom section and form a fold. The edges are delimited by parallel fold lines, of which a first fold line is situated between the first folded-in edge and the upper part, a second fold line is situated between the second folded-in edge and the lower part, and a third fold line is situated between the two edges. The end flaps on the upper part of the side wall are connected to the end flaps of the top section, and the end flaps on the lower part of the side wall are connected to the end flaps of the bottom section.
The folded-in edges are expediently provided with fastening arrangements which can be formed by means of end flaps from the first edge being connected to the end flaps from the upper part of the side wall, while end flaps from the second edge are connected to the end flaps from the lower part of the side wall. The transport box can be divided into two storage trays or transport trays by separating the upper part from the lower part along the third fold line. The third fold line is advantageously perforated or in some other way weakened in order to facilitate separation.
After separation, two stackable trays are thus obtained with an edge folded in from each longitudinal side wall, which edge holds the contents in place upon separation and gives the trays stability in order to increase their stackability. The end flaps of the edges can be designed such that they can hook securely through a slit arranged in a corresponding end flap from the side wall in a manner which is already known for fastening two adjoining sections to each other. The end flaps from the edges can also be connected to the end flaps from the side walls by means of glue.